Susanne Daniels, YouTube's head of original content, inside the YouTube sound stage at the Spruce Goose hangar in Playa Vista, Calif. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Four years ago, veteran TV executive Susanne Daniels was tasked with an ambitious plan: build a set of original programmes that would leapfrog YouTube into a prominent player in the subscription streaming marketplace, competing against the likes of Hulu and Amazon Studios.
Now, the online video giant is pivoting away from that strategy. Original programmes, once largely behind a paywall, will become free, supported by ads by 2020. And the Google division is scaling back its investment in original scripted programming, focusing more on productions centred around YouTube stars, celebrities and musical artistes.
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